golovkin566 (Photo by Will Hart) By Allan Fox: After seven years as a pro, WBA middleweight champion Gennady Golovkin (29-0, 26 KO’s) will be fighting his first well-known opponent in former IBF/WBA 160-pound champion Daniel Geale (30-2, 16 KO’s) in their “G4” card next month on July 26th on HBO from Madison Square Garden in New York. While Geale obviously isn’t as popular as guys like Miguel Cotto or Sergio Martinez, he is a big step up from the guys that Golovkin has been fighting up until now in terms of visibility and fighting technique.

Golovkin is quite pleased to be getting the fight with Geale, and he’s hoping that this fight will lead to bigger ones against the likes of Cotto, Peter Quillin, Sam Soliman and Carl Froch.

“I’m very happy to be fighting Daniel Geale, I’ve known him for many years and this will be a terrific fight for the fans. Saturday, July 26 will be a great night at Madison Square Garden,” Golovkin said.

The fight should prove to be an exciting one for as long as it lasts. Geale is the type of fighter who could give Golovkin a lot of problems with his movement and boxing skills. By the time this fight is over, boxing fans will get a better idea of how good or not so good Golovkin, because Geale is definitely going to be looking to out-box him in this fight.

This is a tremendous opportunity for me. I want thank HBO, Gary Shaw, Grange Old School Boxing and Madison Square Garden,” Geale said. “This is a perfect fight for me and I look forward to the challenge of facing Gennady.”

The Golovkin-Geale fight will be televised on on HBO World Championship Boxing starting at 9:30 p.m. ET/PT on July 26h. In the co-feature bout, unbeaten heavyweights Bryant Jennings and Mike Perez will be fighting in what should be an interesting fight. Both guys are superb fighters with decent power and the ability to throw a lot of punches.

“Mike [Perez] doesn’t like to talk much but I’m here to tell you that I will be the next heavyweight champion from the United States and I can’t wait for July 26,” said Jennings.

Jennings, 29, doesn’t have the same kind of extensive amateur background that the 28-year-old Perez, as he’s only been a pro since 2010. However, Jennings is naturally gifted with great athletic skills, and he’s learned the fight game quickly. Whether he’s learned enough to defeat an experienced fighter like Perez is unclear.

In his last fight, Jennings defeated Artur Szpilka by a 10th round stoppage last January. For Jennings, 6’2”, this was the best opponent of his early career, and he looked good in winning the fight.

“I don’t have much to say but I look forward to facing Bryant Jennings on July 26 and fighting on HBO,” Perez said.

Perez, who comes from Cuba, fought to a controversial 10 round draw in his last fight against Carlos Takam last January in a fight that took place at Madison Square Garden. A lot of boxing fans felt that Perez lost that fight, as he was out-worked for 10 rounds by Takam. There’s no questioning that Perez had problems with the inside fighting skills of Takam, and he definitely struggled in trying to keep up with him with his high punch output.

In Perez’s previous fight, he defeated Magomed Abdusalamov by a 10 round decision last year in November. This is a fight that left Abdulamov in a coma. The fight was a war for 10 rounds with both fighters taking massive punishment. It’s not surprising that Perez didn’t look good in his next fight against Takam after being involved in such a tough fight like this.

Tickets for the “G4” card are going for $500, $300, $200, $100, $50 and $25. They can be bought starting at 12:00 p.m. ET on Tuesday, June 10, at the Madison Square Garden Box Office, all Ticketmaster outlets, Ticketmaster charge by phone (866-858-0008) and online at www.ticketmaster.com and www.thegarden.com